Sacred Gate - The Battle of Thermopylae

"Go tell the Spartans,
stranger passing by,
that here obedient
to their laws, we lie"
(Simonides)

In 480, before Christ's birth
The Persian empire was
the greatest on earth
The army and navy
of Xerxes the first
Began their invasion
to conquer Greece

300 Spartans and 7000 allies
Marched out to Thermopylae,
a narrow mountain pass
Their mission was to delay
the Persian advance
To encourage the Greeks,
to keep morale high

13 years they were schooled
in the Spartan art of war
in the phalanx formation,
thousands fighting as one

The Persians draw their bows,
arrows blot out the sun
Our battle hymns sound loud,
the slaughter has begun
Their infantry attacks,
but they don't have a chance
Against our heavy shields,
against our mighty spears

Xerxes from above,
sitting on his throne
He sends more men to fight,
he sees his immortals fall
Bodies lay down dead with
cut throats, smashed heads
Their last gaze at the sky,
the fear's still in their eyes
The blood has reached
our knees, two days
we'll kill and die
The third day will be the last,
a traitor's by our side
The allies have been dismissed,
their duty they have done
But soon they'll get the chance
to fight Xerxes again

The flesh is the source
the source of all fear
But this flesh is not ours,
it belongs to the Gods
And I hail them for this,
'cause my mind is now clear
Stronger than pain and fear
Now I'll fight to the death

And when their swords broke
they fought with hands
and teeth
Side by side with
their comrades
they died as they wished

The battle is lost now,
but their sacrifice's great
Their death will be honoured till
eternity ends... till eternity ends

They knew that
this was their final fight,
this was their certain end
But in their hearts and
in their minds, they tamed
the fear of death
With courage and with
bravery, they made
their last stand
With blood they wrote
their history, for glory
they have died